Liquid gas burner



Dec. 2, 1958 s. KLosE ETAL LIQUID GAS BURNER Filed March 26, 1956 S N REI SP MOR NLU EKT V N J I D R N UE MD GN am E L A AT TORNEYS United States Patent() 2,862,546 LIQUID GASBURNER lSigmund Klose, Flushing Heights, Alexander J. fllrpin, Stewart Manor,` N. Y., ,assignors to Hauck Manufacturing Co., Brooklyn, N.Y., a corporation of NewYork Application Maicl`1'26,-1I9`56,=Seirial No. 573,911 Claims. (Cl..158'-53) This inventionrrelates-to burners, particularly forbottled liquidpetroleu'mvgas. y

Portable burners have-heretoforebeen made using a liquid fuel such ras kerosene. `Morefrecently efforts have been-made .to use L. P. gasrthat is, liquiiedpetroleum gals such aspropane,-butane, or .other bottled gas, .these being bottled under pressuressohigh. that the `gas isV in liquid form. Bottled gas has important advantages,-such as -easy operation of the burner; high efficiency; safety,.in that there is no liquid fuel tospillor catchiire; full range of heat-adjustment without need for removing the burner,- as from a melting kettle; Vclean operation without smoke or soot; no need for pumping up pressure in 'the fuel tank by nileans of a hand pump; and no-need for preheating, so that there-is no loss of light-up time.

`. However, attempts to use bottled gas at high rates -have lled to'new difficulties. The expansion or vap'oriza-tion from liquid to gas at the surface of the liquid has a refrigeratingaction. A heav-y layer of vfrost may appear on the outside of the bottle up to the liquid level inthe bottle. The 'expansion reduces temperature to the,l point where only slow 'further volatilization takesrplace. vThis r'educesthellow of gas, to overcome which.` it has been 'sought to .use 'tw'obottles or even three o'r more'bottles 'connected i'n parallel, in an effort to maintain .adequate -flow of'ga'S.

The'primary bj'ecit'of the present invention is to over- "come the foregoingy diiliculty, and to make it possible "to work with a single bottle. A more 'particular object vis to provide comparatively 4simple apparatu'sffor the purpose, requiring 'only an'expansion valve and an extra pipe and a regenerative type heating means at the burner. However, we have found'that ythe mere provision of Aordinary fregenerativeheating is no-t enough, and in ac- `cordance with-features and 'objects 'ofthe present invention ive'ap'ply heat to the expanded gas immediately "followingfthe expansion valve, this'heat being yapplied either 'by heat 'exchange Vor'by 1direct mixture of heated -'gas with fthe'elii-lled gas, o-r'more preferably both.

V-To "accompli'sh thev foregoing general objects, and'other "more specific objects which-Will'hereinafter appear, 'our ='inv`ention 'resides i-n the liquid gas burner `relements, A"and their 'relation-one 'to-another, as are hereinafter more :particularly ydescribedinthe "following 'sfpecieation T he specification i's raccor'npa'nied'by a drawing, 'in'whichz j lF-igjl is a'partially sectioned 'View showing a liquid gas 'fbott'lefandlburner-assembly embodying features of'o'ur invention; i

rFig; 2 iswan-'enlarge'd view ofthe burner assemblyfwith most of the structure shown in vertical section;

yFig. 3 lis a transversesectio'n taken approximately in Ithe plane ofthe line S-SJO'Fig.. 2;

Fig. 54 yis a side elevation Aof a modification;

Fig. 5.is -a fragmentary vertical 'sectionthrou'gh the -spud holder andlongitudinally 'of l'the modification; 'and -Figw6 is a fragmentary transverse section takenin the .plane of the line-6-6 of Fig. 5.

' Referring-to the drawing, and more'part-icularly to Aextending all the way lFor convenience-a shut-olf valvey 16 may be provided'at .the topof the dip tube 14, but this valve'is not'used as Fig. l,..a tank-or so-called bottle-of liquiied ,-gas is shown at 'v1-2. `In lieu of a gas shut-off valve locateddirectly at the top of the bottle, we employ a dip tube 14 down to the bottom of the bottle.

an expansion valve.VV Its purpose-is merely to control the ilow through hose l18 of liquidgas which is still in liquid form. The' hose ,-18 is a high pressure hose capable of withstanding thefpressure in bottle 12, which may be about' 125 lbs. per'snquare inc-h. Even a very 1slow vapori- `zation of the liquid gas at the top of. the bottle, suggested here by the space`20, is-.ampleto insure deliveryof liquid gas upward through dip tube 14 to pipe 18, and .there-is no problem of refrigeration. A

The burner assembly comprises ya'spu'd 2`2,=a.nozzle 24, and a regenerative heating jacket 26 associated with or located Within the'nozZl'e 24. There is also-a pipe 28 acting as a handle for the burner proper. These burners 2O 'are frequently used in melting kettles, and in such case maybe dropped down into a well leading to a ilue atthe bottom of'the kettle, and the length of pipe or handle y28 v'is determined largely bythe depth of the Well in the kettle.

An 'expansion'valve' 3l) .islocate'd at the upper or remote end of pipe' 28. The'expanded 'gas is first supplied to the jacket 26, and thence' from the jacket 26 to the spud 22.. In the` present case the supply to jacket 26 is through a 'bottom pipe32, -and` the 'supply from .jacket-'Zoto the AVSpud 22 is through' 'atop pipe' 34.

As -so'far describe'd the arrangement'would resemble that of an ordinary regenerative burner, but we have found that it is important to heat the expanded ga's ih 'the v'region immediately lfollowing the 'expansion valve 30. For-this purpose `we provideA a'second 'pipe whichfis most 'conveniently-"disposed concentrica'lly within .the handle pipe 28,'as is'indicated by'th'e dotted 'line's`3`6.

The-heated 'gas'leaving'regenerative jacket 26 through pipe 134' isf'conn'ected not-1o'nly to= the 'Spud 22, Abut alsoto ione of "the pipes-28, 3`5,While the expanded'and 'there- -fore chilled gaslleaving the valve 30'iiows'throu`gh'the other pipe. In the present 'case'the chilled 'gas 'flows -through the inner'p-ipe 36, while the heated gas is con'- nected to the outer pipe 23. Moreover, in preferred form -somefof the 'heated gas is actually mixed with'th'e chilled gas immediately following the expansion valve.

ReferringtoFig. 2 of the drawing, 'the expansion valve VZtl'r is a needle valve-having va valve stem di) terminating in a conical' point at 42. The usual vaiveseat is'replaced I'by a 'special seat '44 which is secured to vthe upper end vof the inner pipe Y36. The pipe 36' is preferably made of 'br-ass. The' upperend vof'pipe "Iyt'h'as holes or ports '46 therein. These admit some ofA the heated 'gas into pipe '36, Vfor directmixture-with theachilled gas. v A

Atfits l'ewerfend the inner vpipe 66 tits 'into la passage Eli'-drfilledlin'a spud'holder 5i) which carries the Spud 22. Passage 4 8 turns at 52 to the horiZ-on'talpipe 32 Aleading to' the 'heating jacket 26.

Ashere'shown the'nozzle 24 is'cylind'rical, and the heat- Ving jacket :2:6 'is formed by another cylindrical wall g4 of somewhat smaller diameter ldisposedconcentrically within the rear portion of vnozzle 24. The space ybetween' the cylinders is sealed by a circular line of -welding shown ateo, and to'facilitate .the Welding-operation an annu'lus 'of wireSS may be forced into the space between the-cylinders to 'act' as an end Wall before beginning Athe -w'eldingoperation tose'al all three 'parts together.

The rear endof the heating jacket-26 is'sir'nilarly closed b'y arcuate "wire indicated atfeil, and by welding' indicated -at 62,Vbut in this casetwo curved pieces ofwire vare fused, eac-hless-than a semileircle" in len'gt'hQin order 'to :leave va space -or opening -at 'the-top vandat the bottom.

pipe 34 is connectedto the spud block 50, as shown at 68, and the block has passages 70 and 72 leading to the spud 22 and thus supplying heated gas to the spud. However, the passage 70 is continuedrearwardly to provide communication with the outer pipe 28, or, more specically, with the jacket space 74 between the pipes 36 and 2S. The spud holder 50 in the present case is a generally upright block of metal such as cold rolled steel, and the passages 48, 52, 70 and 72 are formed by drilling the block. In such case the upper end of passage 72 may be sealed, as by driving a ball or plug 76 into the passage and' welding thereover, as shown at 78.

It is desirable to provide for adjustable air supply, and for this purpose an air adjusting sleeve 80 is made movable toward or away from the spud 72. The sleeve 80 is preferably made slightly larger in diameter than the nozzle 24, and is slidable thereover. The sleeve may be provided with guides 82 and 84 which are slidable on the horizontal pipes 32 and 34, respectively. The sleeve may additionally be provided with a set screw 86 bearing against the pipe 34 to lock the sleeve in adjusted position.

The burner elements may be mounted on a suitable base 88, which in the present ca se is bent up out of sheet metal, as shown in Fig. 3. The sides of the nozzle 24 are welded to the forward end of the base, as indicated at 90 in Fig. 2.

It will be understood that it is not essential for the handle pipe 28 to extend upward from the burner. When the burner is to be used in a bottom red melting kettle, or is to be used for some other purpose in which the handle is preferred to be behind the burner, the parts may be disposed in that fashion, as illustrated in Figs. 4, and 6 of the drawing. Referring to those figures, the burner, generally designated 92, corresponds in substantially all respects to that previously described, except that the handle pipe 94 is disposed horizontally and extends rearwardly from the spud holder block 96. The expansion valve 98 is preferably connected to the hose 100 through an elbow 102.

Referring now to Fig. 5, the spud block 96 receives the spud at 104, and has gas passages 106 and 107 which correspond generally to the passages 52 and 70 previously described, and which similarly receive horizontal pipes leading to the regenerative heating jacket. However, the vertical passage 110 terminates short of the top of the block, and receives the inner handle pipe 112, as shown. The horizontal passage 114 is connected not only to the intersecting vertical passage 108, but also leads to the space 116 between the outer handle pipe 94 and the inner handle pipe 112.

The outer handle pipe is preferably expanded vertically and flattened sidewardly somewhat,` as shown at 118 in Fig. 6. This gives more room fora flow connection with passage 114, and it helps make the connection between the handle 94 and the spud block 96 more rigid. This connection is by welding, indicated at 120 in Fig. 5.

It will be understood that while we have shown the handles 28 (Fig. 1) and 94 (Fig. 5) substantial in length, this is not essential for successful operation of the burner assembly. One reason is that the ports 46 (Fig. 2) alord a direct admixture of some of the heated gas with the chilled gas, and this alone eliminates freezing of moisture. From this view point the heat exchange function of the concentric pipes is not important. In may be mentioned that a definite dependable flow of heated gas through the ports 46 is assured because there is an aspirating or venturi action caused by the rapid flow of the expanded gas immediately following the expansion valve, and this draws some of the heated gas along with it.

With this in mind it will be understood that it is not essential to have a long handle pipe or even any handle pipe, and instead the connection between the expansion valve and the spud holder may be reduced to a matter of only a few inches in length. It is not essential to use concentric pipes in the handle, and instead two collateral pipes may be employed, one for the chilled gas, and the other for the heated gas. In such case, of course, there is no heat exchange action, but there is a mixture of hot gas with the chilled gas to prevent freezing of moisture.

It is believed that the construction and operation, as well as the advantages `of our improved liquid gas burner, Will be apparent from the foregoing detailed description. One advantage is that the burner may be lighted and the ilame immediately adjusted to desired dimension by manipulation of the valve, without waiting through a long preheatng period for the flame to stabilize, as has been found necessary with kerosene or like liquid fuel.

A workman may light and adjust the present burner, and promptly walk away from it.

The reason is that in the present case the regenerative heating is needed only to counteract the refrigerant action, and the latter takes time to build up. Thus when the burner is first lighted there may be no appreciable regenerative heat, but there also is no appreciable chilling or frost. By the time the latter builds up, the regenerative heat has also built up.

Another advantage is that the heating jacket for the chilled gas acts reciprocally as a cooling means for the cylindrical flame holder or nozzle. The nozzle may operate at red heat, and without some cooling means tends to be burned away. However, when the nozzle is intimately associated with a heat exchanger receiving the chilled gas it is protected against excessive heating.

The regenerative heater of the burner need not be made up of concentric cylinders, and other forms of heat exchanger may be used, as for example, a helical heating coil. The helix may be tight enough to act as a nozzle, or it may be disposed in direct contact with a nozzle.

Inasmuch as regenerative burners are themselves in wide use, it may be said that our improved burner solves a heretofore difficult and troublesome problem of frost generation by the mere addition of one extra handle pipe, together with a rather convenient location of the expan sion valve on the handle pipe.

It will be understood that while we have shown 'and described our invention in several preferred forms, other changes may be made in the structures shown, without departing from the scope of the invention, as sought to be defined in the following claims. In the claims the term regenerative heating jacket is intended to mean any form of heater at or near the burner'flame, Whether a coil or concentric cylinders or the like. The term heating jacket is used, instead of some other term such as heat exchanger, merely to differentiate more readily from the concentric handle pipes. The term nozzle refers to any device for flame retention. The term spud refers to the discharge orice where the gas is liberated to the atmosphere for ignition, and the orifice need not be in a separate plug-like member, as here shown, although that is a convenient and customary construction.

We claim:

1.'A liquid gas burner assembly comprising a burner including a spud, and a regenerative heating jacket disposed in front of and spaced from said spud `and heated by the flame from said spud, a rst pipe connected to said burner, a liquid gas expansion means having a constricted orifice located at the end of and discharging in the form of a jet into said irst pipe remote from said burner, means flow-connecting said pipe to the heating jacket inlet in order to heat the already expanded gas, means eeaeae connectin'g the outlet of said heating jacket to said rspudin ,order to supply heated gas to said spud for combustiom rneanslalso connecting the outlet of said heating jacket to a second pipe, and means connectingsaid second pipe to vsaid rstpipe near the expansion means, whereby some o'fthe heated ga'sis aspirated ito and. mixed with the expanded gas leaving the expansion means in gaseous "state at ak point near the expansion meansand flows' with .the expanded gas on its way to the'heating jacket, in

order to help counteract'the refrigerating effect of the expansion means. .I

2. A liquidgas burner assembly comprising a burner including a spud, a nozzle and a regenerative #heating jacket disposed infront of and spaced from said spud'and heated by theame from said spud, an outer pipe vconnected to said burner, an inner pipe 'extendingjthrough the 'outer pipe, a'liquid gas 'expansion 'meanshaving la constricted orice located at the end of saitlfpipes remote from said burner and discharging in the formjof aj'et' into one of said pipes, means How-connecting 'said latter ,pipe to the heating jacket in order to 'heat'the already 'expande'dgas, means vconnectingithe outlet'of said heating jacket to saidl Spud in order to supply heated gas'tosaid spu'd forcombustion, and means also connecting saidV `heating jacket outlet'to the pipe other-than the one having the expansion means, said inner pipe havingone or more ports near the expansion means, whereby some of the heated gas is aspirated into and mixed with the expanded gas leaving the expansion means in gaseous state fat-a p`oint near theexpansion meansyand flows-with the -expan'ded `gas on its way` to the heating jacket,1in:;order toihelp counteract the refrigeratingy eiectiof the expansion lmeans.

3. A liquidy gas burner assembly comprlsing aburner including a spud, a nozzle and a regenerative heating yjacketfdisposed in front of andfs'pace'd from 'e'id spud and heated by the flame from said Spud, an outer pipe of appreciable length connected to said burner, an inner pipe extending through the outer pipe, a liquid gas expansion valve having a constricted orifice located at the end of said pipes remote from said burner and discharging in the form of a jet into one of said pipes, means owconnecting said latter pipe to the heating jacket in order to heat the already expanded gas, means connecting the outlet of said heating jacket to said spud in order to supply heated gas to said spud for combustion, and means also connecting said heating jacket outlet to the pipe other than the one having the expansion valve, whereby the pipes act as a heat exchanger to heat the expanded gas leaving the valve at a point near the valve, said inner pipe having one or more ports near the expansion valve, whereby some of the heated gas is aspirated into and mixed with the expanded gas leaving the valve at a point near the valve and ows with the expanded gas on its Way to the heating jacket, in order to help counteract the refrigerating effect of the expansion valve.

4. A liquid gas burner assembly comprising a burner including a Spud, and a nozzle for the ame produced by said spud, at least part of said nozzle being double Walled to provide a heating jacket, an outer pipe rigidly secured to said burner, an inner pipe extending through the outer pipe, a liquid gas expansion valve having a constricted orifice located at the end of said pipes remote from said burner and discharging in the form of a jet into the inner pipe, means flow-connecting the inner pipe to the heating jacket in order to heat the expanded gas, means connecting the outlet of said heating jacket to said spud in order to supply heated gas to said spud for combustion, and means also connecting said heating jacket outlet to the outer pipe, said inner pipe having one or more ports near the expansion valve, whereby some of the heated gas is aspirated into and mixed with the expanded gas leaving the valve at a point near the valve and flows with the expanded gas on its way to the heat- Ywith and spaced from said'noz l with a regenerative heating jacket which is heated-by "the'flamefrom the spud, an outer {pipeof appreciable length acting as a handle and rigidly Vwithin {the outer pipeV to 'for'rn a 'passage therebetween,

'burner and discharging in Yjacket in order to ing jacket, in order to'help counteract the refrgerting effect-ot theiexpansion valve. v

5. A liquid gas burner assembly comprisinga bur-ner including a Spud, a'nozzle for "the flame'prodiledby said spud, atA leastpart of said nozzlefbei'ng double viiialled to provide a heating jacket, Vand an air Y' Isleeve'slib'.lable on said nozzle to adjust ythe same relafive'f-to the spd, an Vouter pipe of appreciable length rigidly secured-'to sai'd burner, an inner pipe extending through the outer pipe, Yaliquid gas expansion valve-having a `const'ricted oriiice located at theend of-sa-i'd pipesfremotefromsaid the jform of a jet into' the? inner pipe, means dow-connecting the inner-pipe .to th'efheating heat theexpandedgas, Vmeans connecting the outlet of said heatiifgja'eket to-said-sp'd in order to supply heated vgas to -said spud f or combustion, and means also connecting said heating jacket voutlet to the outer pipe, whereby'thepipes act-as a heat exchanger to heat the expanded gas 'leaving the'valve at apoi'nt-near thev valve, said inner pipe having 4one or`Vv more ports near Withthe expanded gas on'its way'` to'the heatingjacket,

-in order to help counteract the refrigeratin'g eifec'tof the "expansion valve.

f6. A liquid 'gesl-burner assembly comprising a spud holder, a spud carried thereby, afnozzle forthe llame produced by said spud, said nozzle being disposedi-n front vo'ffand spacedifrorn' saidholder, a wally concentric Vle and forrniig theren l secured to vvsaid holder, lvan inner pipe extending through and spaced 'a lliquid gas-expansionvalvelocatedat the end Vofsaid pipes remote from said holder and discharging into one of the concentric pipes, a horizontal pipe extending from the holder to the jacket, a passage through the holder connecting the aforesaid gas receiving concentric pipe to said horizontal pipe, another horizontal pipe extending from the holder to another part of the jacket, and passages in the holder connecting said last mentioned pipe to the other concentric pipe and to the spud in order to supply warmed gas to said spud for combustion.

7. A liquid gas burner assembly comprising a spud holder, a spud carried thereby, a nozzle for the flame produced by said spud, said nozzle being disposed in front of and spaced from said holder, a wall concentric with and spaced from said nozzle and forming therewith a regenerative heating jacket which is heated by the ame from the spud, an outer pipe of appreciable length acting as a handle and rigidly secured to said holder, an inner pipe extending through and spaced within the outer pipe to form a passage therebetween, a liquid gas expansion valve located at the end of said pipes remote from said holder and discharging into one of the concentric pipes, a horizontal pipe extending from the holder to the jacket, a passage through the holder connecting the aforesaid gas receiving concentric pipe to said horizontal pipe, another horizontal pipe extending from the holder to another part of the jacket, and passages in the holder connecting said last `mentioned pipe to the other concentric pipe and to the spud in order to supply warmed gas to said spud for combustion, said inner pipe having one or more ports near the expansion valve whereby some of the heated gas is mixed with and flows with the expanded gas.

8. A liquid gas burner assembly comprising a spud holder, a spud carried thereby, a nozzle for the ame produced by said Spud, said nozzle being disposed in front of and spaced from said holder, a wall concentric with and spaced from said nozzle and forming therewith a regenerative heating jacket which is heated by the .ame from the spud, an outerpipe of appreciable length rthe aforesaid gas receiving concentric pipe to said horizontal pipe, another horizontal pipe extending from the holder to another part of the jacket, and passages in the holder connecting said last mentioned pipe to the other concentric pipe and to the spud in order to supply warmed gas to said spud for combustion, said inner pipe having one or more ports near the expansion valve whereby some of the heated gas is mixed with and ilows with the expanded gas, and an air adjusting sleeve movable toward and away from the holder, Asaid sleeve having guide means sliding on the aforesaid horizontal pipes.

9. A liquid gas burner assembly comprising a spud holder block, a spud carried thereby, a cylindrical nozzle for the llame produced by said spud, said nozzle being disposed in front of and spaced from said block, another `cylindrical wall concentric with and spaced from said nozzle and forming therewith a regenerative heating jacket which is heated by the ame from the Spud, an outer pipe of appreciable length acting as a handle and rigidly secured to said block, an inner pipe extending through and spaced within the outer pipe to form a passage therebetween, a liquid gas expansion valve located at the end of said pipes remote from said block anddischarging into the inner pipe, a horizontal pipe extending from the block to the bottom rear edge of the jacket, a passage through the block connecting the aforesaid inner pipe to said horizontal pipe, another horizontal pipe extending from the block to the rear top edge of the jacket, and passages in the block connecting said pipe to the spud to feed warmed gas to the `outer pipe and to the spud in order to supply warmed gas to said spud for combustion. l

10. A liquid gas burner assembly comprising a Spud holder block, a spud carried thereby, a cylindrical nozzle for the flame produced by said spud, said nozzle being disposed in front of and spaced from said block, another cylindrical Wall concentric with and spaced from said nozzle and forming therewith a regenerative heating jacket which is heated by the arne from the Spud, an outer pipe of appreciable length acting as a handle and rigidly secured to said block, an inner pipe extending through andspaced within the outer pipe to form a passage therebetween, a liquid gas expansion valve located at the end of said pipes remote from said block and discharging into the innerpipe, a horizontal pipe extending from the block to the bottom rear edge of the jacket, a passage through the block connectingy the aforesaid inner pipe to said horizontal pipe, another horizontal pipe extending from the block to the rear top edge of the jacket, and passages in the block connecting said pipe to the spud to feed warmed gas to the outer pipe and to the spud in order to supply warmed gas to said spud for combustion, rsaid inner pipe having one or more ports near the expansion valve whereby some of the warmed gas is mixed with and ows with the expanded gas.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,617,399 Kress May 28, 1923 1,907,924 Wilson June 30, 1932 2,379,979 Michaud Feb. 16, 1942 2,473,192 Blackwell Aug. 13, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS 120,093 Germany Apr. 30, 1901 

